For this test, known as a static fire test, the rocket was secured to the pad while its engines briefly fired up, allowing engineers to ensure the booster was working properly. 11) and fired up the Falcon's nine Merlin 1D engines as part of a pre-launch test. To ensure that Falcon 9 is ready for its milestone flight tomorrow, SpaceX rolled the rocket out to the pad on Thursday (Nov. Once that rocket successfully launched and returned safely back to Earth, SpaceX's teams at Kennedy started preparing its other rocket for Friday's early morning launch. That rocket, B1067, carried a crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station for SpaceX's six-month Crew-3 mission that is taking place as part of NASA's commercial crew program. The company launched a different Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday night (Nov. Stunning photos of Falcon Heavy's 1st night launchįriday's flight will mark the second Falcon 9 rocket this week for SpaceX. The evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures Related: SpaceX's most-flown Falcon 9 rocket is a sooty veteran after 10 launches and landings (photos) Poised to make its ninth flight, the rocket's previous payloads have included four different Starlink missions, as well as its first crewed flight for NASA Crew Demo-2, the rideshare satellite mission Transporter-1, CRS-21 cargo mission for NASA and the ANASIS-11 satellite mission. The reused rocket lofting the satellites into orbit, is a veteran of the fleet. The service is intended to be available to people around the globe, with a special focus on users in rural or remote areas that have little to no connectivity. SpaceX created its Starlink program with the goal of providing high-speed internet access to users around the world and as a means to help fund its deep-space ambitions. The mission lifting off tomorrow, called Starlink 31, is the company's second batch of upgraded satellites to launch and will bring the total number of SpaceX broadband satellites launched up to 1,844. This will also be the 128th flight for SpaceX's 229-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 booster, and if all goes as planned, it will also be the 94th recovery of a Falcon 9 first stage booster since the company landed its first one in December 2015. The company then launched its first full batch on a polar trajectory from its California-based launch pad in September. ![]() The flight also marks the second Starlink launch since May SpaceX paused launches for about four months in order to equip the satellites with the ability to communicate with each other via laser links, reducing the constellation's reliance on Earth, according to SpaceX. Friday's flight is the 25th Falcon 9 mission for SpaceX so far in 2021.
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